On 14 September, Mr Osagie, the special adviser to the Edo state governor on media projects, emailed a statement he claimed emanated from Mr Aziegbemi to media houses, including Premium Times.
The statement claimed that Nigeria’s Presidency, through the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was plotting to manipulate the forthcoming governorship election in Edo.
The statement, which Mr Aziegbemi has disowned, alleged that Mr Ribadu had released $2 million to the APC governorship candidate in Edo “to buy votes and bribe security agencies during the election”.
Mr Aziegbemi’s disclaimer came hours after Mr Ribadu demanded N10 billion as damages to his reputation and threatened to sue him.
PREMIUM TIMES spoke with Mr Aziegbemi on Monday morning on the matter. The paper asked him if he knew that Mr Osagie, a media aide to Governor Obaseki, circulated the statement he disclaimed.
“I don’t know if Crusoe (Osagie) issued it or not. What I know is that I didn’t issue it. So I have disclaimed it,” he responded.
